Western Mountains Hunting Report: December 7, 2007

As the unofficial (for biologists) end to deer hunting came to a close last week, I spent most of my time chasing the last Chronic Wasting Disease samples in the Moscow and Brighton area. As of last Sunday, Region D biologists completed collecting samples from these areas thanks to local hunters. As far as deer kill rates, it’s really too early to call since our data is not yet compiled in a format that we can to compare to past years. I personally observed a number of adult bucks between 180 and 200+ pounds throughout the region. The overall trend seemed to suggest that there were many more young bucks killed this year, which coincides with the winter survival rates of last year’s fawns. Again, we will have to wait until all the data is available to see if the young deer trend is significant compared to other regions and previous years.

If you were not able to tag a deer in the regular firearms season, the next two weeks offer muzzleloading opportunities in selected WMD’s. This is a nice time to hunt especially with the snow we have received over the past few weeks. Be sure to consult with your hunting law book to make sure of dates and whether your WMD is open to muzzleloading. There is also plenty of time to hunt ruffed grouse and take advantage of the December season. The grouse are grouping together in shootable covers, making it very lucrative and possible to bag your limit. I also saw several snowshoe hare during the deer season, possibly making it a banner year for bunnies. Trappers are also gearing up this weekend for the start of beaver trapping season. Even though it’s getting colder, there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy the outdoors.